In Sickness and In Health
by Sixty Five Roses
Summary: Sharon hasn't told Andy a few things that are quite important for a future husband to know about his wife. What he discovers has the potential to change their entire life together. Please read the warning.


**A/N and warning** **:** I have no idea where the inspiration for this story came from, but it was such a nagging idea that I just had to write it in order for it to stop haunting me. Anyway, this story is utterly tragic, super angsty, and includes a major character death, so if that's not your cup of tea, you should probably don't read it.

* * *

The incessant ringing of Sharon's phone surprised them both in the middle of a heated make out session. At first, Sharon kept her lips on Andy's, before she realized she had to at least check who the caller was before she decided to take or ignore the call. Reluctantly, she pulled away from Andy and reached for her phone. When she saw the caller identity, she quickly leaped off Andy's knees and took the call. Andy watched her as she spoke, from the questions that she asked the person on the other side of the line, Andy gathered that this was not a work-related call. He tried to figure out who she was talking to and what it was about. As far as he knew, Sharon did not have many living relatives. She was an only child; she hasn't mentioned her parents very often, and Andy believed that they already passed away. She never mentioned any cousins, aunts or uncles. From what Andy knew about his fiancée's family, she only had her children. She looked distraught when she ended the call and took a seat on the bed next to him, burying her face in her palms.

"What's going on?" he asked and gently placed his palm on her shoulder.

"My father is not doing well. I have to go back home," she replied.

"Wait, your father is alive?" Andy asked. After what had happened on that Christmas eight years ago, he figured that Sharon's father has passed away.

"Yes, he moved to a nursing home in Salt Lake City after my mother died," Sharon said.

"A nursing home?" Andy looked at her with a scandalized expression. Sharon did not seem like the type of person who would put her parents in a nursing home in another state. Sharon shrugged. "What's wrong with him?"

"He has a neurological condition," Sharon replied without giving any more details.

"What, like a stroke?" Andy wondered.

"I have to go back home," she got up and walked out of their bedroom. Andy followed her and watched as she sat at her desk and opened her laptop to book a flight ticket to Salt Lake City.

"You're going to book one for me, too, right?" he asked.

"Andy, I don't think it's a good idea," she replied as she filled all the information in the booking form.

"I think it is. I mean, until five minutes ago, I didn't even know your dad is alive, and it sounds like things are not going well with him, so I'd like to get a chance to meet him, and promise I'll always take care of his daughter."

"Andy, he won't care about any of that," Sharon insisted.

"Of course he will. I mean, his daughter is getting married in a month, I'm sure he wanted to attend the wedding, so…" Andy paused as the thought crossed his mind that Sharon's father might not even know about the wedding at all. "You did tell him that we're getting married, right?"

"Look, Andy, there are things you don't understand," Sharon sighed.

"Does he even know anything about me?" he asked.

"This is really not the right time to discuss it, Andy. My flight is in six hours, so I better go and start packing. Can you please print the flight information for me?" She asked as she got up and went to their room. Andy took a seat at her desk. He wasn't sure what the issue with Sharon's father was, or why she never mentioned that her father lived in a nursing home, or that he was alive. She was too upset to delve into details, and he knew better than asking her while she was in a foul mood. The decision of what was right to do, however, was very easy.

Several minutes later, he walked back into their bedroom, holding the boarding tickets he printed in his hand. Sharon was in the middle of packing and was taking a black dress out of her closet.

"Here," he handed her the tickets. "I think you should know I also booked tickets for myself. I'm coming with you."

"It's a waste of your time and your money," Sharon said. "He's not well enough for meeting you."

"Judging by that dress, it sounds like this might be my only chance to ever meet him," Andy noted. "Are you really packing for a funeral while your dad is still alive?"

"It's a valid option, Andy. If he dies soon, then I'll have to arrange and attend his funeral. I won't have time to buy a dress."

"Okay, why are you angry at me, Sharon? I didn't make your father sick, and all I'm trying to do is to be there for you."

"I'm sorry, Andy. I appreciate it that you want to be by my side, but the truth is that I don't need your help right now."

"Look, if you don't want me to meet your dad, I can at least meet some of your other family members."

"I don't have any other family. My parents immigrated to the United States from the UK, after they lost their families in air raids in the Second World War. My father and my children are the only family I have," Sharon explained.

"And me. I'm your family, too," Andy took her hand. Sharon sighed and looked at him sadly. "I love you, Sharon. Please let me be there for you, and if the worst case scenario happens and your father passes on, at least you won't be there alone."

"My father passing away is not the worst case scenario, Andy, believe me," Sharon replied. "In the state that he is, living is the actual least favorable option."

"What's up with your father, Sharon?" Andy wondered.

"Andy, if you insist on joining me, you have to start packing. We don't have time to stand here and talk, okay?" she quickly changed the subject. Andy sighed and decided to focus on packing. He knew that he would be another chance to talk to her about her father later in the flight or after they visit her father.

Sharon rushed down the hallway of the nursing home, dragging her trolley after her. Andy followed her, trying to keep up with her. He's never really visited anyone in a nursing home before. When a person got sick in his family, everyone made an effort to take care of them and took turns in watching them. He had no idea what in the world could make Sharon put her father in such a place. If he was honest, the place didn't seem horrible from the outside. It looked like a huge mansion. Initially, the entry hall was quite welcoming, but as he followed Sharon towards the ward where her father was staying, it began looking more and more like a hospital.

* * *

William O'Dwyer's room was close to the end of the hall. Sharon paused before opening the door and looked at Andy for a moment. She placed her luggage next to the wall and pursed her lips before her hand moved to push the door open. She threw another glance at Andy and walked into the room. Andy remained standing at the door and watched her as she approached her father. William O'Dwyer was lying in bed, hooked to several tubes and wires. Andy noticed the oxygen tube in his nose.

"Dad?" Sharon said, her voice reminding Andy of a little girl, seeking reassurance in her father's protective presence. Only there was nothing protective about William O'Dwyer. He looked too weak to even breathe. As he heard Sharon's voice, William opened his eyes and looked at her and then closed them again. Andy watched her as she kissed her father's forehead and took his hand. Andy noticed a chair next to the door and walked into the room to move it to where Sharon was standing. She thanked him and took a seat. Andy placed his hand on her shoulder. William opened his eyes again and stared at Sharon for a long moment. His gaze was empty, undecipherable. "Dad, I don't know if you can make any sense of my words, but I just want you to know that I love you, okay?" she asked in a tearful voice. Her father blinked a couple of times.

"I think he knows that, Sharon," Andy said.

"He doesn't even know who I am," Sharon replied bitterly.

"It's just because he's getting medication. I'm sure he knows who you are," Andy tried to comfort her.

"No. He stopped recognizing me six years ago," Sharon sighed. "In the beginning, he only forgot small things, and then he forgot how to make a toast, how to dress, how to shower. I had to put him in here. It got worse after my mother passed away. And then he couldn't recognize Emily and Ricky anymore. When it just started, he would sometimes remember them. Then he stopped remembering my name. I could tell he recognized me, but he forgot my name. And after a while, he forgot who I was. Then, he couldn't remember how to speak, and that's when I stopped coming here. It just hurt too much to see him like that."

"Why didn't you tell me your father has Alzheimer's disease?" Andy asked.

"I told you it was useless to join me," Sharon replied.

"That's not what I meant," he said. "Alzheimer is hereditary, isn't it?" Sharon nodded slowly. "And you never thought you should mention the fact that your father has a hereditary disabling disease?"

"Does knowing that there's a chance that at some point I could have Alzheimer's make you change your mind about marrying me?" Sharon asked.

"Of course not. That's the whole point of 'in sickness and in health'. But it would be nice to get a head's up that it's something we might have to deal with in the future," Andy explained.

"You're right. I should have told you about this, Andy, but I was scared."

"Scared of what? That I'll stop loving you? That I'll break up with you?" Andy wondered. "Sharon, you have been by my side when I had that blood clot, and after I had a heart attack. Do you think that I won't do the same for you if you ever get sick?" He sighed and looked at her for a moment. "I came here to be by your side, and also to assure your father that I'll always take care of you, but I think, the person who should hear that, is not your father. It's you."

"Andy, I…" Sharon looked at him with eyes full of tears.

"Do you hear me, Sharon? I will always take care of you, no matter what happens. No matter how sick you get. I won't leave your side for as long as I live." Sharon got up and wrapped her arms around him.

"If I ever get Alzheimer's, promise me you'll never let it get this far, okay? Promise me that you won't let me forget my children, or you. I don't want to die in a place like this," she begged as she buried her head in his shoulder.

"If this ever happens to you, we'll go to Switzerland and end everything before it gets worse, okay?" Andy promised.

"Thank you, Andy. I love you so much," she sobbed into his shoulder. Andy held her close and kissed the crown of her head. When her tears dried, a little while later, she looked at her father and then at him. "I don't think I can sit here and stare at him until he's gone," she said.

"What do you want to do?" Andy asked.

"I think we should go to dinner, and then we should probably go to the hotel and get some sleep. I'll recalculate my steps tomorrow morning." She turned around and took her father's hand. "Daddy, I love you so much. I will never forget what an amazing father you were, and all the good times we had together. Goodnight." She bent down and kissed her father's forehead, gently smoothing his white hair back before she took Andy's hand and they left.

* * *

It was early morning when Sharon received the call. She was lying in Andy's arms, cocooned in his warmth when the offending ringtone came from her mobile phone. She took a deep breath and handed the phone to Andy. He slid his finger across the screen to answer the call and put the phone to his ear. Sharon listened quietly as he spoke to the nursing home and her eyes slowly filled up with tears. She didn't need to hear it in order to know that her father was gone, even though the father she has known for her entire life has been gone before he even died. Andy tightened his arms around her as she sobbed into the pillow. He knew that no matter how expected William's death was, it still hurt Sharon. He was happy that he could be there for her, and that she didn't have to go through the grief on her own.

"Sweetheart, I know it feels horrible. I know how much it hurts, but your father is finally resting. And he knows how much you loved him, even if you don't think he understood you yesterday, I think he did," he tried to comfort her.

"I miss him so much, Andy," she cried.

"I know, honey," he assured her. It took an hour for her tears to subside, and for Sharon to remember that she needed to start arranging the funeral. Andy was the one who called Emily, Ricky, and Rusty, and then notified Provenza what has happened. It was the following morning when the funeral service took place, with only Sharon, her children and Andy present. William O'Dwyer was buried next to Sharon's mother, and later that day, Sharon, Andy and Rusty made their way home, to LA.

* * *

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Sharon's and Andy's married life was the best that it could be. Shortly after they married, Nicole gave birth to a baby girl, their first granddaughter. A couple of years later, Emily got married and decided to move back to LA where she opened a successful ballet school. Rusty graduated law school and was scarily good at winning cases in court, something that never surprised Sharon, but definitely annoyed Provenza and amused Andy. It was the following summer when Sharon first forgot where she parked her car, and a month after Emily gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, another granddaughter, Sharon forgot how to change a diaper. When Andy woke up one morning and found Sharon putting toothpaste on her hairbrush, they both realized what was wrong.

After a few intensive weeks of examinations and tests, the doctor confirmed what they already knew. Sharon was sick, just like her father was. It was then when she reminded Andy what he had promised her years ago, as they stood by William O'Dwyer's deathbed. With the help of Sharon's physician, they began the process required to apply for euthanasia, which, luckily for them, no longer required for them to travel to Switzerland, as it became legal in the United States. It took several months for Sharon's request has been approved, and that was when they threw a big goodbye party. Their friends and family all gathered to part from Sharon, some in tears, some in laughter, some with words left unsaid. It was a couple of days later when Sharon kissed Andy's lips and looked into his eyes for the last time before the light was gone from her eyes forever. As he held his wife's limp body, Andy smiled through the tears that ran down his face. He knew that he has fulfilled her promise and helped his wife leave this world just like she wanted, with dignity, with most of her memory intact, and with the people that she loved surrounding her. He knew that someday he would meet her on the other side. And although he was eagerly waiting for that day, for now, he would fulfill another promise he has made to her: to see their children grow, to welcome all their grandchildren into the world, to love and make sure that their family was united. He knew that he would do what she has asked until death would bring them together again.

THE END

* * *

 **First of all, I'm sorry for killing Sharon off. Originally, I had a 'happily ever after' ending, but I don't even know what happened and how it turned to this. So I sincerely apologize for ruining your lives with this BSG-style ending. Of course, I wish Sharon and Andy only good things and I don't want them to die, ever.**

 **Anyway, I would love to know what you thought about this story, so feel free to leave a review or send me a PM. Thanks.**


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